 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Hearst Communications |
| Publisher | Denise VonderHaar |
| Founded | 1836 (as theAlton Telegraph) |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | 219 Piasa St. Alton, Illinois 62002, U.S. |
| Circulation | 19,554 daily[1] |
| ISSN | 0897-456X |
| Website | thetelegraph |
The Telegraph is an Americandaily newspaper published seven days a week inAlton, Illinois, serving the St. LouisMetro-East region. It was owned by Civitas Media, based inDavidson, North Carolina, a subsidiary ofPhiladelphia-based Versa Capital Management, which owned about 100 daily and weekly newspapers across 12 states but sold The Telegraph to Hearst Corp. in 2017.
It was founded in 1836, as theAlton Telegraph by Lawson A. Parks.[2] It is published seven days a week.[3] Until the 1970s, theTelegraph was known as theAlton Daily Telegraph and then theAlton Evening Telegraph.[4]
In 1969 theAlton Telegraph was sued for defamation by a local builder, James C. Green. A jury awarded $9 million. The newspaper could not appeal unless it posted a $10 million bond, and instead declared bankruptcy, eventually settling for slightly more than its insurance limits.[5]
The Cousley family controlled the paper from 1889 to 1985, when they sold the paper toIngersoll Publications, who had acquired theSuburban Journals the previous year.[6] When Ingersoll successor Journal Register exited the St. Louis market,The Telegraph was sold toFreedom Communications.[7]
Along withThe Telegraph, Civitas Media also owned theJournal-Courier inJacksonville, Illinois, which was sold to Hearst at the same time as theTelegraph, and theSedalia Democrat inMissouri. These three newspapers, along withThe Lima News in Ohio, constituted the Central Division ofFreedom Communications before being sold to Ohio Community Media in May 2012 before becoming part of Civitas Media.[1][8]
News publishing corporation Hearst Media Company acquired The Telegraph in August 2017.[9]
In December 2017, The Telegraph moved its offices from 111 East Broadway, after 90 years at that location, to 219 Piasa St. in Alton. "Our current building was great as a manufacturing facility, but as the newspaper business has evolved and technology has improved, staffing is now office-based and we need a more modern space to operate the business", former Telegraph Publisher Jim Shrader said.[10]
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